To help manage issues like periodontal disease, we can offer care to prevent discomfort and tooth loss. Taking time to care for your gums helps you enjoy a healthy and attractive smile! In today’s blog, Celina Family Dentistry in Celina, TX, talks about how we keep smiles whole with periodontal care!
The Onset of Periodontal Disease
When should you see our team for periodontic care? If you attend your checkup and cleaning visits every six months, then we have the chance to identify issues quickly and in the early stages, often before you experience uncomfortable symptoms. Otherwise, you may not know your tissues are at risk until they develop gingivitis or the early stages of gum disease, at which point the gums look redder than normal, feel sore, and bleed easily. As the disease reaches a more advanced state, the tissue could pull back to exposed portions of the roots, causing sensitivity and making teeth appear longer. When you encounter one or more of these potential symptoms, please see our team right away for a diagnosis, which we will conduct with advanced digital imaging technology.
Planning Care
Our team will talk to you about your symptoms and your oral hygiene habits. Next, we will look closely at the smile with an intraoral camera for signs of inflammation. We also use digital x-rays to peer under the gums to look at any damage to attachment tissues or underlying bone structure. With this information, we can assess the cause and severity of the disease with precision, and create a treatment plan to manage the issue so you avoid periodontitis, the stage linked to adult tooth loss!
Deep Cleanings
If we catch the issue in the early stages, we can often help with a deep cleaning. As the name implies, this is more involved than a traditional cleaning. Using the same ultrasonics scaling device and manual pick, we will remove all plaque and tartar from the teeth and from the roots and beneath the gums as well. This could take one visit, or as many as four, it all depends on the severity of your buildup. We will numb your smile to ensure you stay comfortable throughout, and polish your teeth afterward to make buildup more difficult to occur before you see us again. Typically, we follow this with a traditional cleaning every three to four months to control buildup and inflammation.
Gum Grafts
If your periodontal disease reaches a more advanced state, this could cause the gums to recede, making teeth appear long and increasing the risk of the advanced stage linked to tooth loss. We can help with a gum graft! The procedure involves taking tissues from other areas of your mouth’s interior and using them to cover the exposed portions of the roots, reshaping your gum line for a more attractive smile. This also covers the portions of the roots not protected by enamel, which fights tooth sensitivity and cavities. The grafting process is then followed with preventive care to properly manage the disease and prevent further recession and discomfort.
Routine Care
Following your periodontic treatments, whether deep cleanings, gum grafts, or both, we can provide preventive care to better manage the issue and keep your smile whole, healthy, and comfortable for years to come. For example, we can clean the teeth and control buildup every three to four months with a cleaning.
Brushing, Flossing, and More
You can also protect your gums with routine care from home in between your visits to our office every few months. For example, you should start your day by brushing for two minutes, using a toothbrush that contains soft bristles to prevent enamel erosion and gum irritation. You also need a toothpaste with fluoride. You need or do the same before you go to bed. Each evening, we urge you to floss before you brush that second time. Flossing is essential for protecting the gums, as you remove the particles trapped between the teeth and under the tissues, which limits the risk of gingivitis and gum disease. Limiting the amount of sugar in your diet is helpful too, as this deprives harmful bacteria of a meal and keeps your smile strong. You also need to avoid tobacco products too!
If you have any questions about how we protect smiles of all ages from gum disease, or how we can offer periodontal care to protect the tissues and manage disease, then contact our team today. We want to help you smile with confidence and enjoy good oral health for years to come!
Celina Family Dentistry Offers Periodontal Care
We want to help safeguard your smile and prevent issues like tooth loss. To provide a solution for protecting your gum health, please call Celina Family Dentistry in Celina, TX at (214) 851-0130 today.
